New Array Find Functions in PHP 8.4

Four new array functions are coming to PHP 8.4 which are helper functions for checking an array for the existence of elements matching a specific condition. The new functions are:

• array_find()
• array_find_key()
• array_any()
• array_all()

#The array_find() Function

The array_find($array, $callback) function returns the first element for which the $callback returns true:

$array = [
    'a' => 'dog',
    'b' => 'cat',
    'c' => 'cow',
    'd' => 'duck',
    'e' => 'goose',
    'f' => 'elephant'
];
 
array_find($array, function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) > 4;
}); // string(5) "goose"
 
array_find($array, function (string $value) {
    return str_starts_with($value, 'f');
}); // null
 
// Find the first animal where the array key is the first symbol of the animal.
array_find($array, function (string $value, $key) {
   return $value[0] === $key;
});

Using Laravel's Arr or Collection you can get equivalent functionality with the first() method in combination with a closure:

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;
use Illuminate\Support\Collection;
 
$array = [
    'a' => 'dog',
    'b' => 'cat',
    'c' => 'cow',
    'd' => 'duck',
    'e' => 'goose',
    'f' => 'elephant'
];
 
new Collection($array)
    ->first(fn ($value) => strlen($value) > 4); // goose
 
Arr::first(
    $array,
    fn ($value) => str_starts_with($value, 'f')
); // null
 
new Collection($array)
    ->first(fn ($value, $key) => $value[0] === $key); // cow

Note that we are demonstrating class instantiation without extra parenthesis, which should also be in PHP 8.4.

#The array_find_key() Function

The array_find_key($array, $callback) function returns the key of the first element for which the $callback returns true. Like array_find(), it returns null if no matching element is found:

$array = [
    'a' => 'dog',
    'b' => 'cat',
    'c' => 'cow',
    'd' => 'duck',
    'e' => 'goose',
    'f' => 'elephant'
];
 
array_find_key($array, function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) > 4;
}); // string(1) "e"
 
array_find_key($array, function (string $value) {
    return str_starts_with($value, 'f');
}); // null
 
array_find_key($array, function (string $value, $key) {
   return $value[0] === $key;
}); // string(1) "c"

The RFC implementation for this function looks like the following:

function array_find_key(array $array, callable $callback): mixed {
    foreach ($array as $key => $value) {
        if ($callback($value, $key)) {
            return $key;
        }
    }
 
    return null;
}

Using Laravel's Collection, you can get functionality similar to the search() method in combination with a closure. However, search() returns false if the item is not found, not null:

use Illuminate\Support\Arr;
use Illuminate\Support\Collection;
 
new Collection($array)->search(function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) > 4;
}); // string(1) "e"
 
new Collection($array)->search(function (string $value) {
    return str_starts_with($value, 'f');
}); // false
 
new Collection($array)->search(function (string $value, $key) {
   return $value[0] === $key;
}); // string(1) "c"

#The array_any() and array_all() Functions

The second part of the RFC (and a separate 2/3 vote) includes the array_any() and array_all() functions. You can use these functions if any of the items in array return true for array_any() and if all of the items in an array return true for array_all(), respectively.

$array = [
    'a' => 'dog',
    'b' => 'cat',
    'c' => 'cow',
    'd' => 'duck',
    'e' => 'goose',
    'f' => 'elephant'
];
 
// Check, if any animal name is longer than 5 letters.
array_any($array, function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) > 5;
}); // bool(true)
 
// Check, if any animal name is shorter than 3 letters.
array_any($array, function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) < 3;
}); // bool(false)
 
// Check, if all animal names are shorter than 12 letters.
array_all($array, function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) < 12;
}); // bool(true)
 
// Check, if all animal names are longer than 5 letters.
array_all($array, function (string $value) {
    return strlen($value) > 5;
}); // bool(false)

#Learn More

You can read all the details about this change in the RFC. This feature drops in PHP 8.4. The implementation for these functions can be found on GitHub.